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Spanish researchers find two bugs on feral pigeons which cause illness in humans

22nd June 2010 – Sampling of pigeons captured on the streets of Madrid has revealed the bacteria they carry. Researchers writing in BioMed Central’s open access journal Acta Vetinaria Scandinavica found two bugs that were highly prevalent in the bird population and which cause illness in humans: Chlamydia psittaci and Campylobacter jejuni.

The study

Fernando Esperón from the Animal Health Research Center, in Madrid, worked with a team of researchers to analyse blood and enema samples taken from 118 pigeons caught using gun-propelled nets.

The study found extremely high prevalence of bacteria which can be transferred from feral pigeons to humans. Esperón said in news release there was no way to tell if the birds were infected: “This leads to the hypothesis that pigeons act as asymptomatic reservoirs of Chlamydia psittaci and Campylobacter jejuni. These birds may therefore pose a public health risk to the human population.”

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